Kesstral

Thanks for all the comments.  I know where to find the advisory stickers on the car seats (I've flown with a carseat before with my eldest), was looking mostly for comments regarding people who have tried it before (possibly not being able to have 2 in a row is interesting).  I didn't know the Diono's could fold in half!

 

I was thankfully able to resolve our conundrum.  While the rental company we are using to the hotel from LAX didn't offer car seats to book on the return, the rental company across the street does, so we have that booked for less than half the cost of the airport transfer from the cruise line.  AND we'll have over 5 hours to drive around and get the kids a proper lunch before our 5pm flight.

23 minutes ago, scottca075 said:

 

Which is why I said look at Bubble Bums. If you are in California for a few days before the cruise, the 5 years olds have to be in a booster seat. Anytime you drive anyplace, be a cab, Uber, friends car, etc, they have to be in a booster.

 

My twins are under 40 pounds and I don't think they will grow that much between now and January (one is 31 lbs and the other is 35).

It turns out while Enterprise doesn't offer the option to pre-reserve car seats, Hertz right across the street does so I think we will book with them for the return.  Works out to almost $200 cheaper than the airport transfer tour for the whole family and we get almost 6 hours to drive around before we need to be at the airport.

On 8/31/2023 at 11:21 AM, scottca075 said:

 

A car rental might be the simplest solution. Look at the Bubble Bum. Drop off is easy with Hertz or Enterprise.

 

Regardless of how you plan to get around, taxi, Uber or Shuttle van, your 5 year olds still need a car seat. Only on a full sized bus or train/subway are they exempt.

 

https://*****.com/bdf2rrjw

 

 

I booked the rental with car seats from LAX to San Pedro no problem.  Unfortunately can't seem to specifically request car seats when booking FROM San Pedro so we will probably have to do the cruise ship airport transfer tour.  My twins use heavy Diono car seats and we're not keen on lugging those onto the plane. 

If anyone is interested, I thought I'd post a quick update.  I ended up booking the Saxman tour in Ketchikan for our entire family but when we got on the cruise ship there was a letter stating the tour was cancelled due to "operational issues".
 

I was able to take the credit from that tour, plus a discount they offered for the inconvenience, and booked just myself and my daughter on the tour in Haines to Klukwan.  My daughter absolutely LOVED it.  We weren't allowed to take any pictures inside, but the displays, artifacts, and artwork were beautiful.  The bus driver was so knowledgeable and friendly and talked about the history of the area the entire way there and back.

When we got to Ketchikan we took the entire family on the city bus to Totem Bight State Park.  The kids loved running around and got to play on the beach for a bit (combination of throwing rocks and looking for clam shells).  The ride back was a bit painful as the bus was so far behind schedule that we ended up catching the bus on its way out of town and had to endure the entire loop back to the ship (and we were docked at berth 4 which has no close bus stops in that direction so had to walk from berth 3). 

Background: My family is flying Vancouver to LA next year for a week cruise on Navigator of the Seas.  We're a family of 5 with a 9 year old and twin 4 year olds (who will be almost 5).  Both of my twins still require a car seat (under 40lbs, etc) and I don't expect them to grow too much over the next 4 months.

I have a rental car (minivan) booked from LAX, with 2 car seats, for our 2 days pre-cruise (my husband is from the area so we will be visiting family) and we can conveniently drop the rental off at our hotel the morning of our cruise.  My issue is getting back to the airport after departure.  I was looking to book an airport transfer through the cruise line (our return flight is in the evening so safe there) but since my husband is from LA he has been rolling his eyes at the idea as it will be really boring (and probably will be boring for our twins to be in a bus that long).  I can book a rental from the same place we dropped off (and it would be less than half the cost of the cruise transfer) BUT they don't offer car seats when reserving online.

 

So my question, I'm considering flying down with the car seats (using in the plane possibly) so we can use them in the rental before and after the cruise.  Has anyone flown with twins in car seats on the plane?  Is it worth it?  (we'll board early and be last off). The last time I flew with kids my oldest was 3 and we did use a carseat on the plane, but is 2 at once too many?  (for reference their current car seats are Diono Radian 3R)

On 8/29/2023 at 9:50 AM, lx200gps said:

I guess you may not want to walk if you have three little ones to contend with ;o)

My kids will be 9, 5 and 5 (so not too little) so if there isn't a shuttle I suspect their little legs are going to get them to the self serve ice cream just fine 😉 
 

On 8/26/2023 at 10:06 AM, lx200gps said:

Unless things have changed, the Enterprise car rental outlet in San Pedro is physically in the Crowne Plaza hotel and the Hertz operation is literally across the street. Please make sure the Enterprise office is open on the day you plan to drop off, or make sure sure that if they are closed they allow unattended dropoffs. I seem to remember they and Hertz had somewhat limited hours when we used them a few years ago.

Thank you for this! I'm traveling with 3 kids and 2 need car seats so figuring out how to get to and from the airport was a challenge. We were planning a rental car from LAX since we'll be in town a few days early to visit family but the drop off seemed complicated.  Since we're staying in that hotel looks like it's super easy!

5 hours ago, sean of the seas said:

Thanks.  I havn't got it yet, it's for some issues on the last cruise and have never had a FCC before.

I am expecting an FCC certificate to show up this week and confirmed we could use it on a future sailing that is booked but not fully paid for.

 

We just got off Brilliance to Alaska and were in room 8500 (right at the front of the ship, fantastic room for my family of 5) but the entire week we kept smelling cigarette smoke. I'm extra sensitive to it (I have to hold my breath running through the casino or I will start having a coughing fit) but tried to tough it out during the cruise since I figured it was just smoke from the crew smoking area (which was just a couple decks below next to the helipad at the front).  I made a comment to the front desk on the last day that they might want maintenance to check on the ventilation system.  The front desk person became very concerned (she said there was no way the smoke from outside should be able to reach the rooms) and said she would alert housekeeping (in case someone was smoking where they shouldn't).  Within 15 minutes the head of housekeeping was in our room to check and apologize for the inconvenience.  

I was really surprised how serious they took my complaint and am impressed that they offered me something.  

2 minutes ago, Cruisin_Kat said:

So, if I choose myself only and 2 devices, I will have to logon to each device for them to use it?  So there is a special logon for me to get me into both devices, right?  Sorry, just trying to wrap my head around how this works.....thanks!

Yes, it's kinda like when you are shopping at a store or staying at a hotel and you want to connect to their wifi. You will need to log in to connect.  This is also how you can switch between devices (I'll be mostly connected on my phone but may need to switch to my notebook if I have a work emergency).

It's apparently cheaper to get 1 person with 2 devices.

On 3/22/2022 at 10:31 PM, jkrislc said:

The two most popular options are the Doubletree, which offers a shuttle to the port, and the Crowne Plaza hotel, which has a shuttle for a small fee, but is walkable for some. The Crowne Plaza is closer to dining options if that's important to you.

 

Thank you for this!  I just managed to get a room at Crowne Plaza for my family for next January (not a lot of options when you have 5 people). 

My condolences on the loss of your friend.  I hope you have a wonderful cruise in her memory!

 

While I'm from the area, I don't have any hotel recommendations but an option might be to look at hotels closer to the airport in Richmond and you can then take the Canada Line right to Waterfront Station (which is next to the cruise ship terminal) if you can't find anything in your budget in downtown.  

I'm on Brilliance of the Seas in May too (21st) and can't wait!

I'll be taking my kids to Alaska in May (Brilliance of the Seas).  We are from southwestern BC and live in the traditional territory of the Stó:lō.  My daughter (8yo) has been learning about our local indigenous people in school and she really enjoys it.  I'd love to take her on a tour or visit some sites on our trip where she can learn more about the indigenous culture of SW Alaska (Tlingit I believe?). 

Our port stops are Sitka, Juneau, Haines, and Ketchikan.  I visited Totem Bight state park in Ketchikan about a decade ago so I know it's an option, but looking for something maybe more informative/interactive?  The cruise line has a tour to Saxman Native Totem Village, anyone have any experience with this tour (ie, is it rushed/crowded?). Other ports/tours we should look at?

I had the May 7th, 2023 sailing booked in 8012 (spacious oceanview) and while I think Brilliance might be a nicer ship overall, I was really looking forward to that specific room.  I'm still waiting to see where they shove us on the Brilliance.  Hopefully I don't have to wait too long, because I might want to change sailings before all the 5+ rooms fill up.

It doesn't appear that the cruise lines have taken ANY action on this news from Canada still.  They've shut down operations for 30 days but you can still book Vancouver departure Alaskan sailings starting in mid-April.  Are the cruise lines sitting around going "oh that Canada, they are so funny, they didn't mean it" or have they just not gotten around to dealing with anything after the first 30 days?  I had a rep from Holland email me today asking if I wanted to book something for this May.

Well that officially cancels my May cruise.  Now waiting to hear from the cruiseline. 

On 3/10/2020 at 10:21 PM, scottbee said:

 

The trick is not to go into Waterfront Station itself, but instead use the Granville St (@ W Hastings) exit directly from the platform.  This shortens the walk, and makes the walk mostly downhill.

Oh absolutely!  I know for next time.  Just wanted to share my experience with the actual distance since with luggage it might be a bigger deal for some. 😉

I did this a couple years ago with our (then) 3 year old: Parked at YVR, took the Canada Line to Waterfront and then got on the ship at Canada Place.  There is a short walk from where you get off the Canada Line train.  When we did it we popped up by the A&W at the train station (big red Canadian Pacific Railway building) on West Cordova and Google says it's about a 400m walk to the front of Canada Place where the ships dock (so probably under 1k total walking from train door to ship checkin).  We had 3 suitcases (1 large, 2 carry-on size) and an umbrella stroller. 

Just now, reedprincess said:

In advance pricing may be a little better than onboard for those dealing with currency conversions (or it may not either)...

I noticed for Emerald for our upcoming cruise this Friday that the internet is now offered in levels, not minutes and was $77.99 CAD (reg 79.99 USD) for the highest level for the 4 days.  I did take advantage of pre-buying this one.

23 minutes ago, DnA2010 said:

2 more days! Emerald Princess out of Vancouver!

Same here!  

Appears to be the last ship of the season out of Vancouver too!

My ship doesn't seem to offer an airport transfer post cruise. We aren't flying home right away as we'll be down in LA to visit family for a few days but plan to take an Uber from the pier to the rental cars at LAX (was cheaper than finding a rental place nearby and returning to the airport). We'll have my daughter's car seat so hoping for no issues with the Uber.

73....wow.....that is fantastic....!!!

 

It was NOT 73 last Friday when I was there!! Jealous!

 

Oh well I still had a great trip.

Hi since you live in Vancouver what are the must do's for vacationers? do you have uber there? how much is transportation to cruise line? Thanks

There is no Uber in Vancouver yet.

I am not sure I can help with the cost question. I drove into town and paid to park at the terminal. Check out the West Coast Departures board, there is lots of info there on skytrain or taxi rates.

As for must do's that will probably depend on what you are interested in and how much time you have pre or post cruise.

 

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Thanks for your live report. The Volendam was our first HAL sailing in Alaska. Many fond memories.

 

Just wondering... how did it work out having everyone in a Neptune Suite vs. two OV cabins? Pros and cons, I assume. Would you make the same choice again?

 

B

Here's a photo of the room with the sofa bed made up. I used some magnets and command hooks (only the ceiling is magnetic fyi) to hang a fabric shower curtain between the two beds and it worked well to give some privacy. (I thought I took a picture but can't seem to find it)

 

I've had connecting cabins before when we sailed with my mom and brother (on Zaandam) so I already had an idea how those rooms were going to work. My only concern originally was what if my daughter woke up at night and would we have to leave the connecting door open, etc.

 

By having us all in the same room I was able to tend to my daughter when she woke up. This really only happened on the first night because my mom complained about the quality of the sofa bed and that my daughter flops around a lot so she was woken up often. We were able to have a memory foam topper added to the bed which helped my mom's hips tremendously. For the remaining 6 nights of the cruise we had our daughter sleep in between my husband and I as the bed in the Neptune suite is king sized rather than queen (she was spoiled as we never let her spend the night in our bed at home although I've spent many hours in hers). While sleeping with us she actually slept through the night so I got a better sleep.

 

I found the room itself big enough to allow everyone space to move around and be comfortable. There was a dressing room between the bathroom and the cabin so we could get changed privately.

 

I think it worked out for us to accept the suite. A standard balcony room would have been too small and I would not have wanted to combine "families" in that little space. The extra amenities that came along with the suite definitely helped as well. I will admit my husband was not pleased with the idea of sharing a room with my mother although he says now that it was fine.

 

If the 4 of us were to travel again I would not go out of my way to book a Neptune suite (would still opt for 2 OV/balcony rooms) unless it was cheaper than 2 rooms for 4 people.

That being said my mom and husband say they are both spoiled now having experienced a suite. My husband loved the Neptune lounge and spent many hours reading in there. I've never had a balcony on an Alaskan cruise before and really appreciated the space to enjoy the scenery.

 

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I just got home from a week in Alaska on Volendam! Was my 4th Alaskan cruise.

I have friends sailing on Ruby in September. Have a great trip!

Well, I saw a whale while kayaking in Ketchikan last Monday.

I've never seen a tour offering what you are looking for,just no way to keep up. I also wouldn't want to be that far out in the open water where the whale watching tours go.

 

Personally I'd recommend Ketchikan for kayaking (I've done it twice and it was great) but I believe there are kayak tours in Juneau out of Auke Bay (which is where the whale watching tours depart from) so that's probably the closest.